Pierre Meloche lived a fascinating life as an early Detroit settler and a close friend of Odawa chief Pontiac. I have a couple of connections to the Meloche family through my mother — in fact, my third great-grandmother was a Meloche. Whether you’re a relative or simply curious about the family’s role in Detroit, join me as I explore Pierre Meloche’s unique story.
Early Life
Pierre Meloche was born in Montreal, Quebec, in 1701 to François Meloche and Marie Mouflet. His father immigrated from France, while his mother was the daughter of Anne Dodin, a filles du roi, and another French immigrant.
Pierre was the eldest of 10 siblings. His siblings included Jean Baptiste Meloche, Marie Josephe Meloche, Marianne Meloche, Joseph Marie Meloche, François Meloche, Dominique Meloche, Antoine Meloche, Simon Meloche and Jacques Meloche.
Pierre Meloche’s Life in Detroit
While Meloche’s family stayed in Quebec, Pierre moved to Detroit in late 1729 or 1730. In August 1729, he married Jeanne Caron in Montreal, and less than a year later, in June 1730, they had their first son, Pierre Meloche Jr. in Detroit. They went on to have 11 more children there: Thérèse Meloche, François Meloche, Marie Magdalene Meloche, Marie Catherine Meloche, Marie Josephine Meloche, Jean Baptiste Meloche, Jeanne Meloche, Antoine-Jean Meloche, Antoine Simon Meloche, Simon Pierre Meloche and Catherine Meloche.
Meloche became a prominent figure in the Detroit community. He was a skilled carpenter who established a sawmill on the south shore by 1754 and later became a building contractor, supplying materials and labour for local construction. Father Pierre Potier, a missionary priest serving the Huron Mission, relied on Meloche for lumber to build many of his buildings, including St. Anne’s Church and the Huron Mission. Meloche also supplied lumber for the fort and nearby farmhouses.
Friendship with Pontiac
Pierre Meloche was known for having a close relationship with Obwandiyag, better known as Pontiac, the Odawa chief who famously led Pontiac’s War against British rule from 1763 to 1766. Pontiac’s village was located next to Pierre’s property.
After Pierre died in 1760, his son Jean Baptiste Meloche maintained a close relationship with Pontiac and played a direct role in Pontiac’s War. His farm, formerly his father’s, became a basecamp for Pontiac and his warriors during the siege of Fort Detroit. When Pontiac prepared for the Battle of Bloody Run, he ordered supplies from local settlers to be stored at Meloche’s house near Parent’s Creek. Jean Baptiste played a key role in this effort, collecting and distributing provisions to Pontiac’s forces.
During the battle, Pontiac’s warriors ambushed the British, killing many of their soldiers. Parent’s Creek turned red with their blood, earning it the nickname Bloody Run.
The Name “Hannongianchiak”
Genealogists suspect that Pierre Meloche was either adopted by an Indigenous Nation or of mixed birth, which may explain his name, Hannongianchiak. Interestingly, in the 1740s Huron village census at Bois Blanc (Bob-Lo Island), Meloche was officially recorded as an Odawa Indian.
After reviewing my family tree, it seems unlikely that Pierre had Indigenous ancestry. Instead, it’s more likely that he was adopted at some point, especially given his close relationship with Pontiac.
My Connection to Pierre Meloche
I have multiple connections to Pierre Meloche in my family tree. My third great-grandmother, Olive Meloche, is a direct descendant, and she’s in the photo below. She’s the older woman seated in the chair, with her daughter (my second great-grandmother), Catherine Barron, standing on one side, and her granddaughter (my great-grandmother), Mary Zoe Renaud, on the other. The little boy is Mary Zoe’s eldest son, George Higgins, who was my grandmother Mary Catherine’s older brother.
This photo was taken around George’s first birthday in April or May of 1908. My grandmother was born on December 28, 1908, so Mary Zoe was pregnant with her in this photo.
First Lineage
- Pierre Meloche (1701 – 1760) and Jeanne Caron (1709 – 1757)
- Thérèse Meloche (1732 – abt. 1805) and François Eustache Janis (1713 – 1771)
- Genevieve Janis (1751 – aft. 1790) and Claude Thomas Reaume (1743 – 1827)
- Laurent Reaume I (1771 – 1820) and Josephe Marie Villers (1782 – 1834)
- Genevieve Reaume (1804 – 1848) and Edouard Bondy (1801 – 1850)
- Eli Bondy (1827 – 1894) and Marguerite Baron (1832 – 1898)
- Joseph Edward Eli Bondy (1858 – 1944) and Amelia Isabella Brush (1864 – 1935)
- Pearl Leafy Bondy (1885 – 1966) and Edward Walter Grondin (1886 – 1973)
- Walter Grondin (1910 – 1998) and Mary Catherine Higgins (1908 – 1983)
- Martha Grondin (Born 1950) and Gary Willis (Born 1946) – my parents
Second Lineage
- Pierre Meloche (1701 – 1760) and Jeanne Caron (1709 – 1757)
- Pierre Meloche (1730 – 1805) and Marie Catherine Guignard (1736 – 1805)
- Etienne Meloche (1764 – 1814) and Marie Anne Reaume (1780 – 1816)
- Etienne Meloche (1799 – 1839) and Florence Pouget (1804 – 1857)
- Olive Meloche (1828 – 1916) and Patrice Barron (1822 – 1898)
- Catherine Barron (
- Mary Catherine Higgins (1908 – 1983) and Walter Grondin (1910 – 1998)
- Martha Grondin (born 1950) and Gary Willis (born 1946) – my parents
Are you related to Pierre Meloche? Let me know!
Want to learn more about Detroit’s earliest French settlers? Check out Detroit’s Original French Canadian Settlers & Their Fascinating Stories.
Gloria wyzgoski CLOUTIER, CONTACTME I’m descendant zacharie Cloutier
I am a direct descendant of Pierre Meloche. 8 generations. his daughter Marie Catherine married Andre Peltier. Their son Charles & Archange Casse dit St. Aubin. Their son John Baptist & Marguerite Phenix had a son John Baptist. He married Maine Mary Rivard. They had a daughter Alice Peltier. She married George J. Forton. They had a son George J Forton. He was my grandfather. His son was Bob. I am Bob’s son Jerome Forton
Hi Jerome!
Wow, you connect to so many of the early Detroit families — the Peltiers, Casse dit St. Aubin, and Rivard. Which side of the border did your family end up on? Canada or the U.S.?
Cate, would you please email me at Boismier@me.com. My name is Denis. I would be grateful to hear from you. Pierre Meloche, Jeanne Caron are my generational grandparents. Their daughter, Marie Catherine Meloche married Andre Pelltier, their daughter Marie Josephe Pelltier married Jean Baptiste Charbonneau, their daughter Marguerite Charbonneau married Austin Jean Eustache Bastien Rocan, their son Pascal Patrice Russel Bastien married Clemence Lalonge, their son Gardius Albert Bastien married Adelle Olive Renaud, their daughter Della Mabel Mary Bastien married James Henry Boismier Sr and Mabel gave birth to my dad, James Henry Boismier Jr.
Nothing but the best!!
Denis Boismier
Hello! Do you have the source for ” in the 1740s Huron village census at Bois Blanc (Bob-Lo Island), Meloche was officially recorded as an Odawa Indian.” ?
Would love to read more!
Hey! Thanks for reaching out!
I found the census information for the 1740s in Pierre Meloche’s WikiTree profile: https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Meloche-37.
I also found information about Meloche in the Journal of Pontiac’s Conspiracy, 1763 (https://dn790009.ca.archive.org/0/items/journalofpontiac00sociuoft/journalofpontiac00sociuoft.pdf) and a journal article from JSTOR called “A Métis Family in the Detroit River Region and Pays d’en Haut.”
There’s also a post on Meloche in a Facebook group called Michigan History: https://www.facebook.com/groups/1282668961809379/posts/3491919770884276/. There seems to be some confusion about whether he was adopted into the Odawa or was of mixed birth. I think it’s more likely that he was adopted into the tribe.
Our family is in direct lineage to Pierre Meloche. It’s highly probable that he was Odawa. by blood. We link through Grondin, Renaud surnames.
You belong to the Grondin and the Renaud families? We’re probably pretty closely related then. My mother is a Grondin and my great-grandmother was a Renaud.
Our line starts through Charles Grondin and Anne Renaud.
If a priest enters that Pierre Meloche was Odawa you can take that as truth over some genealogist who weren’t there. It was the priest’s job to do accurate records of vitals so the colonists would know who was native. I can’t find the document from Bois Blanc Island with his Odawa name on it. Ancestry may have it, but outside of that site I haven’t found the document written by Perre Potier. I found Pierre Portier’s writings at internet archive and scrolling to the end it’s written in english and is the account book for the mission building. Pierre Meloche is mentioned several times.
My question is not whether the priest’s record should be dismissed. I agree that the record is important evidence. My question is what “Odawa” meant in that context. Was Pierre Meloche identified as Odawa because he had Odawa ancestry, because he had been adopted into the community, or because he had some other form of kinship or alliance with the Odawa? Those distinctions matter, especially in the Great Lakes context, where identity was not always based solely on biological descent.
Looking at the available genealogy, Pierre’s parents, grandparents, and great-grandparents appear to be French, so I have not yet found evidence of an Indigenous ancestor in the documented lineage. At the same time, I recognize that French families in the Detroit region had very close relationships with Indigenous nations through marriage, trade, adoption, and kinship networks, particularly among the Three Fires and Wyandot communities.
In my own research on Detroit-area families, I have found cases where Indigenous ancestry is well documented, so I am not skeptical of the possibility in principle. I am simply trying to understand what the historical record is actually indicating in Pierre Meloche’s case.
Based on the evidence currently available, my interpretation is that this may reflect adoption, kinship, or another form of community affiliation with the Odawa rather than necessarily biological ancestry.
https://archive.org/details/huronmanuscripts00poti/page/690/mode/2up
start on page 713 is the account books for building the huron mission at Detroit.
Charles Grondin m. Anne Renaud, their son William Grondin m. —— and their daughter is my Grandmother.
He was French/Odawa. You are thinking like a colonist. Catholic documents are the only record in some cases of native ancestry. If he was adopted Odawa/Otawa, it would have been stated. I haven’t found the Bois Blanc huron mission vitals yet. So I would have to see that. The huron at the mission in Detroit were fleeing from there to Bois Blanc Island huron mission because of the turmoil between them and the the Ottawa. Huron were the easiest converts to Catholism and the Ottawa were against that in general. I wouldn’t be surprised that an Odawa/Ottawa followed the Huron there to Pierre Portier’s Huron mission as a convert to Catholism
If we don’t have the actual document, we can’t verify the wording or the context. I’m not dismissing the claim. I’m saying the original record is needed before we can conclude what “Odawa” meant in this case. If the document is found, I’d be happy to look at it and discuss it further. Otherwise, thank you for the discussion and have a great day.